Studio couch



jam.. 3L E939. v 4E T, WUEST ET AL Z STUDIO COUCH Filed April 6, 1958 olI L l U l' 56 ffii] '/7 AT RNEV Patented Jan.. 3l, 1939 diddl?,

Appiication April 6, 1938, Serial No. 200,451

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to a studio couch, or what is known as abed couch, which may be extended to furnish a bed or collapsed tofurnish a couch or seat.

An object of the invention is to provide a couch oi the characterreferred to, which includes a novel triple-purpose means to facilitatethe extension of one couch section, to lend support to the othersection, and to automatically lock the section against accidentalseparation.

A further object oi the invention is to accomplish the objective abovementioned, with the use of a simple, inexpensive, and. effective meanswhich requires no adjusting, servicing, or replacement of partsthroughout the liie of the couch.

Another object of the invention is to dispense with highly mechanizedconstruction in the accomplishinent of the objectives stated, and toeliminate the customary stooping and tugging heretofore necessarilyresorted to in extending one couch section relative to the other.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein anddisclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view, part being broken away, showing a couch embodyingthe present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a swing bar of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a modied form of swing bar.

Fig. et is a iront view of the couch, showing the normal position of theswing bar, this view being on a reduced scale.

In the drawing, the character ii indicates a stationary couch sectionwhich includes a support for a mattress and other bed equipment, saidsection having attached thereto, as at l, an upu right inverted U-shapedback rest t. The back rest may be of any suitable construction, and asshown it comprises merely a bent tube or pipe having upstanding portions9 and it connected by a transverse section l 2.

A movable couch section which comprises iront, rear, and side framemembers, indicated at i3, Ed, i and it respectively, is adapted tonormally cover the stationary couch section. The movable section, beingprovided with rolls or other guiding means il, is shiitable to extendedand retracted positions relative to the stationary section. rtheillustration of the drawing shows the movable section in the retractedor normal position.

By preference, the movable section includes a pair of arm rests it atopposite ends of the couch, supported upon one or more standards i9. Thearm rests, of course, are elevated above the couch sections and abovethe cushions ordinarily supported thereon, which cushions are notdisclosed herein.

Devices of the general character thus far described are well known inthe art, however, the problem of extending the movable couch sectionwithout extraordinary effort has always been one of concern to themanufacturers of convertible couches. In the past, it was necessary forthe user to stoop and tug at the movable section, or to operate someunwieldy mechanical means in order to eiTect an extension of the couchsections. In accordance with the present invention however there hasbeen provided a more convenient, simple, and effective means for thatpurpose, details of which will be explained presently.

It should be noted that each side member of the movable section carriesa bracket or bearing means 2li, preferably at a location substantiallymidway between the front and rear frame members itl and ifi. Thesebrackets or bearings are adapted to pivotally support what will bereferred to herein as a triple-purpose swing bar, two forms of which areshown in Figs. 2 and 3. Each swing bar comprises a pair of bearing ends2l formed, in the simplest manner, by turning outwardly the free ends ofthe parallel arms 22 and 23 which constitute the swing bars. At the rearend of each arm, the bar is bent in such a manner as to provide a handlebar 2li which is elevated considerably above the pivotal mounting at thefree ends of the parallel arms aforesaid. Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate twodifferent ways of forming the handle bar. In accordance with Fig. 2, thearms 22 and are bent upwardly substantially at right angles and inparallelism, as indicated at 25 and it to provide risers, the upper endsof which risers are connected by means of the handle bar. In this formof swing bar, the handle part substantially spans the end frame membersof the couch, as may readily be evidenced by reference to Fig. Li. Bymoving the swing bar to the broken line position 2l' of Fig. 1, the usermay grasp the handle bar to conveniently extend the movable section,using the swing bar as a so-called draw bar. After the movable sectionhas been fully extended, the swing bar may be dropped downwardly toassume a position adjacent to the front frame member i3 of the movablecouch section. In the embodiment shown, the pivoted arm portions wouldrest upon the upper edges or the side frame members l5 and it. It shouldbe noted that in the normal position of the swing bar, as illustrated inFig. 1, the handle portion is disposed at an elevation above the movablecouch section so as to be accessible when cushions are in position uponthe couch.

As before stated the swing bar of this invention performs three distinctfunctions: rstly, it provides a draw bar to be grasped for extending themovable couch section, secondly, it furnishes a means of preventingaccidental displacement of the movable section while the couch is in useas a seat, and thirdly, it provides an effective means for bracing theback rest which ordinarily has but a single point of support whereconnection is made to the stationary couch section, as at l. The lasttwo functions of the swing bar result from its cooperation with a simpleattachment which may be referred to as a latch means 28 applied to oneor both sides of the back rest at substantially the elevation of thehandle bar 24. This latch means may be simply a length of strap metalattached to the back rest in any suitable manner,- such as by means ofscrews or other fasteners 29, a portion of the strap being developedinto an end hook 30 providing an open topped recess or pocket 3l. In theFig. 1 embodiment, the handle bar will naturally fall into the opentopped pocket when the swing bar is moved to the normal position shown,provided that the movable couch section is fully retracted. The parallelarms 22 and 23 may rest upon the upper edges of the side frame membersl5 and i6 when the handle bar portion of the swing bar rests within thepocket or recess of the latch element. Viith the parts in this position,it will be impossible for a person sitting on the couch, to lean againstthe back rest and thereby unintentionally shift the movable sectionforwardly. Moreover, a person resting his back against the back rest I2may not place a great strain upon the back rest at the point ofconnection 'l thereof with the stationary couch section, as the hookedend of the latch element will engage the swing bar to furnish addedsupport against rearward distortion or bending of the back rest. Fromthe foregoing it should readily be understood that the swing bar of theinvention effectively performs three separate functions, without the aidof expensive and complicated mechanism. The user, in seeking to extendthe movable couch section is entirely unaware of the existence of thelatch member 28 since it is unnecessary for him to release any catchesor otherwise concern himself with preliminary acts preceding the actualwith- Y drawal of the movable section. In other words,

the latching and unlatching of the swing bar is entirely automatic.

Should the couch be equipped with the type of swing bar disclosed inFig. 3, the mode of use would be unchanged, since a latch memberessentially the same as that shown at 2B will be mounted in xed relationto the back rest or any other location of the stationary couch sectionat which some point, such as A or B, of the swing bar may rest withinthe open topped pocket or recess of the latch member. The clamp member,in this instance, would necessarily be at a somewhat lower elevationthan is indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, however, the functions thereof wouldbe identical.

As indicated at 32 of Fig. l, a protective board or plate may beextended across the ends of the movable section, and disposed in closeproximity with the bracket 2U and the swing bar, in order to precludeinjury to any upholstering material that may be applied to the movablecouch section at that location. Such a board or plate may be employedalso in couches from which the upholstering material is omitted at theends of the couch. The form of the protective part 32 may be varied tosuit the various designs of couch ends.

At this point in the description it may be mentioned that the particularangular structure of the swing bar may be varied, with perhaps some lossof advantage, while retaining the fundamental purposes thereof, forexample, with reference to Fig. 2, the portion 23 might be extendeddirectly to the handle portion 24, instead of reaching the handleportion by way of the angularity between the parts 23 and 26, therebyomitting the risers completely. Such a construction, however, might beobjected to from the standpoint of appearance, although it would be anoperative construction. Also, with some loss of advantage, the riserscould be omitted, and the handle portion 24 disposed across the arms 22and 23 in the plane thereof. It is to be understood that suchmodifications and changes in structural details may be made, within thescope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit cf theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a couch of the character described, the combination whichcomprises: a stationary couch section including a back rest extendingupwardly at the rear thereof, a movable section shiftable to extendedand retracted positions relative to the stationary section, said movablesection including front, rear and side frame members movable toward andfrom the back rest of the stationary section, a bearing on each sideframe member intermediate the front and rear frame members, and a swingbar substantially spanning the side frame members, said swing barcomprising a pair of arms each having a free end pivoted in the sidemember bearings, risers extending upwardly from the arms, and a handlebar connecting said risers and disposed at an elevation above themovable couch section so as to be readily grasped, for moving the swingbar about its pivots and manually extending the movable section usingthe handle bar as a draw bar, and a latch element fixed relative to theback rest and having an open topped pocket to receive the swing bar andlatch the couch sections against accidental relative movement.

2. In a couch of the character described, the combination whichcomprises: a stationary couch section including a back rest extendingupwardly at the rear thereof, a movable section shiftable to extendedand retracted positions relative to the stationary section, said movablesection including front, rear and side frame members movable toward andfrom the back rest of the stationary section, a bearing on each sideframe member intermediate the front and rear frame members, and a swingbar substantially spanning the side frame members, said swing barcomprising a pair of arms each having a free end pivoted in the sidemember bearings, with the arms normally disposed in substantialparallelism with the side frame members, risers extending upwardly fromthe arms to an elevation above the movable couch section, a handle barconnecting said risers at said elevation to provide ready access foractuation of the swing bar about its bearing mounts, and a latch meansnormally connecting the swing bar to the back rest for precludingaccidental shifting of the couch sections from the collapsedrelationship.

3. In a couch of the character described, the combination whichcomprises: a stationary couch section, and a movable section shiitableto extended and retracted positions relative to the stationary section,said movable section including front, rear, and side frame members, abearing on each side frame member intermediate the front and rear framemembers, and a swing bar substantially spanning the side frame members,said swing bar comprising a pair of arms each having a free end pivotedin the side member bearings for swinging movement from the region of therear frame member toward the front frame member of the movable section,means including a handle bar connecting the arms and movable therewithto provide a hand grasp for pulling the movable section to the eX-tended position, and holding means on the stationary couch sectionproviding a socket for reception of the swing bar when it is pivotallym'oved to the region of the rear frame member of the movable section.

4. In a couch of the character described, the combination whichcomprises: a stationary couch section including a back rest extendingupwardly at the rear thereof, a movable section shiftable to extendedand retracted positions relative to the stationary section, said movablesection including iront, rear, and side frame members, a bearing on eachside frame member substantially midway between the front and rear framemembers, and a swing bar substantially spanning the movable couchsection from one side member to the other, said swing bar comprising apair of arms pivoted to the side member bearings and extendingrearwardly along the side frame members to a location adjacent to theback rest of the stationary frame member, risers extending upwardly fromthe arms in close parallelism with portions of the back rest, and ahandle bar connecting said risers at an elevation above the movablesection of the couch, said handle bar swinging with the arms about theirpivots to a position in advance of the front frame member of the movablecouch section, and a socket on the back rest providing a restraininglatch for the swing bar.

ELMER T. WUEST. HERBERT A.

